


Like Ripping off a Band-Aid

by Twice_before_Friday



Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Brightwell, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Major Character Injury, Mental Health Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-24
Updated: 2020-01-28
Packaged: 2021-02-25 06:41:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22391725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Twice_before_Friday/pseuds/Twice_before_Friday
Summary: An injury while working a case makes Malcolm and Dani realize that it's time to do something about all those feelings they've been having about one another.
Relationships: Gil Arroyo & Malcolm Bright, Malcolm Bright/Dani Powell
Comments: 23
Kudos: 139





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Well. This was supposed to be a super short, super fluffy Brightwell story to help me work through some writer's block on a longer case fic that I'm working on. Instead, it ended up being quite a bit longer (and a whole lot angstier) than I had meant, so I decided to break it into chapters. 
> 
> If there's any nurses out there tugging their hair about medical inaccuracies, I apologize in advance. I totally just guessed on this one.
> 
> Anyhow, I hope it's worth the read. I hope to have the final two chapters posted by the end of next week.

Malcolm rushed into the conference room, a frenetic ball of energy, interrupting JT’s rundown on the latest lead he was following. JT glowered at the profiler, while Gil and Dani just looked at him expectantly, somehow used to his unusual behaviour.

"Gil," Malcolm said breathlessly, "Saint Mary's Church has announced that they'll be holding a candlelight vigil for the victims tonight. There's no way our killer would pass up the opportunity to see how much pain he's caused."

"You think you'll be able to spot our guy?" the scowl on JT's face faded when he realized Malcolm's interruption might just lead to a break in the case.

"Maybe," Malcolm said, pacing in front of the windows. "Hopefully. Our killer is a psychopath, so while everyone else there is mourning, he's going to be enjoying himself. These situationally incongruent emotions should, theoretically, be fairly easy to spot in such a grief-laden atmosphere."

"But?" Gil asked, sensing Malcolm's hesitance.

Malcolm gave a half shrug and shoved his hands in his pockets. "The profile suggests that our killer likely has a high IQ. It's possible that, while he'll be excited by the grief he witnesses, he'll be able to hide it well and blend in completely with the mourners."

"So it could be another dead end," JT stated, leaning back in his chair and tossing his pen down on the folder in front of him.

Gil ran a hand over his goatee and sighed. "It's worth a try. Dani, go with Malcolm to the service, see if anyone stands out. Keep it discreet, please. We have enough eyes on us already with this case."

Dani nodded to Gil and got to her feet, gesturing for Malcolm to follow her to her desk.

"What time is this service?" she asked.

"9:00. But I'd like to get there early to watch everyone as they come in, see if we can spot our guy before he has a chance to put on a mask of bereavement." Malcolm had that look in his eyes, a hunter on the prowl.

When they first started working together, Dani had thought that the almost manic energy he displayed when they were chasing down a killer was slightly deranged, but after working with him for so many cases, she recognized that he was just eager to catch the bad-guy, like they all were.

"Alright," Dani agreed. "How about I meet you at the church at 8:00? We can find a place where we can watch everyone arrive."

Malcolm beamed at her. He always seemed so damn excited when he was included in anything, whether it was a case or drinks at the pub after a long day, and that smile never failed to make her heart skip a beat. Not that she had any intention of ever telling him that. Instead, she schooled her features into a purely professional expression as she turned to her computer and started typing up notes to put in the file.

Malcolm watched as Dani got right back to work, once again admiring her dedication to the job. He allowed himself a moment, only a moment, to watch her as she worked. He was captivated by the flow of her curly hair down her back, by her pursed lips and intense stare as she typed, by her elegant fingers as they flew across the keyboard. He turned away before it had the chance to become awkward. The last thing he would ever want would be to make her uncomfortable with unwanted attention. So he walked away, calling over his shoulder as he went, "See you at 8, detective!"

*

Dani noticed Bright the minute she turned the corner on her way to the church. He was standing on the bottom step of the grand entrance, looking perfectly at ease as his eyes darted over the passing pedestrians, his years of training marking every expression on every face. He was, of course, in one of his beautifully tailored custom suits, opting this time for a somber black instead of the blues and greys he usually preferred. She let her gaze linger on him as she walked his way, knowing he hadn't yet clocked her presence, thinking that it wasn't just his designer wardrobe that made him seem so dapper all the time. It was his bearing, his speech patterns, his gestures that all screamed 'upper-class', but never pretentiously. She bit her lip and ran her hands self-consciously down her thighs, knowing that her own attire and Bronx upbringing could never compare to Bright's bespoke suits and privileged lifestyle.

She was already on church property when finally he caught sight of her and she saw a glimmer of something in his eyes - heat? wonder? need? - as his gaze swept over her. By the time she made it to his side, he had his usual blinding smile in place. It had happened so quickly that she struggled to place just what it was that she had seen, or if she had seen anything at all, because in the blink of an eye he had settled his features into a more solemn expression, befitting the occasion.

When Malcolm saw that Dani had opted for a pair of black slacks and a charcoal grey silk blouse beneath her black leather jacket, his heart jumped into a rapid-fire reverberation for a moment, floored at how effortlessly stunning she looked. Malcolm had been dragged by his mother to various galas and society events throughout the years, and he knew the women there would kill to project the degree of grace and poise that Dani naturally possessed. It didn't matter if she was in her fitted jeans and a t-shirt at work, or a skirt (and oh, that skirt) with an off-the-shoulder top at the club, or anything else she chose to wear, she always looked lovely and self-assured. But this simple yet classic and refined look took Malcolm's breath away.

"We'll be less conspicuous if we look like we're here as a couple," Malcolm said quietly as Dani stopped beside him.

Dani simply nodded her agreement and they turned to face the church, Malcolm holding out his elbow for Dani to take. It surprised them both how natural it was for Dani to link her arm through his and rest her hand on Malcolm’s forearm.

He continued to speak quietly as they made their way up the stairs to the heavy wooden doors at the top. "Detective, you look... stunning."

She huffed out a laugh and knocked her shoulder into Malcolm. "Shut up, Bright."

He glanced at her sidelong, unsure how to take the brush off. He was deciding how best to ask, when they reached the top of the stairs and he led her off to the side to stand against an arched faux-doorway.

"We should be able to maintain a clear view from here of everyone entering the church," Malcolm said, deciding to leave his unasked question for another time. They had a killer to find and it was time to get down to business. And if neither of them pointed out that Dani's arm was still looped comfortably through his, their bodies fitting perfectly together, pressing warmly against one another as they scanned the crowds, well that was neither here nor there.

Over the next hour, Malcolm discretely pointed out four people to get a closer look at, Dani committing their faces to memory as he directed her attention to each man. Just before 9:00 they made their way into the church, walking up the right-hand side of the pews to the front of the church, Dani spotting three of their persons of interest seated in the pews as they walked. When they arrived at the front pew, Malcolm turned his back to the assemblage, letting Dani get a good look at the crowd while making it look like they were carrying on a conversation.

"Our last guy is straight across from us on the other side of the church leaning on the pillar," she whispered, leaning in. "He's looking over the crowd."

Malcolm turned and held out his arm once again. "Then let's take a walk past and go find some seats near the back."

As they casually strolled towards their guy, Malcolm observed the intensity with which the man was watching the crowd, saw the twitch of his lips as he fought back a smile when his eyes landed on one of the mourners that was already crying before the service had even started. Malcolm had a gut feeling that this was the killer. He nodded to Dani to let her know, allowing her to decide how to handle the situation.

As they approached the man, Dani let go of Malcolm’s arm and walked discreetly to the man's side.

"Excuse me," she said quietly, pulling her jacket over to reveal the badge at her waistline. "Do you mind if we have a quick word?" She phrased it as a question but there was no doubt that she wasn't asking.

The man seemed startled for a moment, but then pasted on a fake smile and asked, "Of course, officer, what is this about?"

Malcolm's hackles rose at the simpering tone and the use of the incorrect title, but he remained silently standing on the opposite side of the man, effectively boxing him in.

A priest began to make his way to the pulpit, signaling the start of the service, and Dani knew they couldn't keep talking there.

"Maybe we should step outside," she said, signaling to small door with a glowing exit sign just behind where they were standing and flicking her eyes to Malcolm.

He took the direction and led the way to the door, the suspect following behind him and Dani bringing up the rear, keeping a close watch on the man in front of her as the priest began to speak. Outside, they descended a few steps into a gated courtyard that ran down the side of the church and around to the back. Dani was a few steps behind, pulling the door closed as quietly as possible, so that as Malcolm and the suspect reached the grass, she was just starting to make her way down.

A surge of panic shot through her as the suspect reached around his side and she caught site of a knife sheath on his hip, previously concealed under his sport coat. Malcolm still had his back to the suspect, leading them towards a bench a few feet away, unaware of the danger behind him.

She was flying down the stairs yelling, "Bright, look out!" before her conscious mind had even caught up with what she was seeing. Bright spun around at the panicked sound of Dani's voice, right as the man swung at him with the knife. Malcolm raised his arm to ward off the blow at the same time as he took a stumbling step back, the knife tearing easily through fabric and skin and muscle where its arc met his forearm.

Malcolm's gasp of pain and surprise was like a kick in the stomach to Dani as she rushed towards the two men. Malcolm dodged the man's next swing, sidestepping under his arm and instinctively bringing himself closer to Dani, who was drawing her weapon as she approached. Malcolm’s eyes flickered her way and she knew that he didn't see the man preparing to lunge.

Her gun was just clearing the holster, but she could tell that there was no stopping the momentum of the man as he jabbed the knife forward. She slammed into Malcolm, throwing him out of the way, taking aim and pulling the trigger at the same time. Unfortunately, the blade sinking into her side caused her shot to pull off center, taking their suspect point blank in the shoulder, rather than center mass.

It had all happened in a manner of seconds and it left them a mass of confused pandemonium as Malcolm hit the ground from being shoved, the man hollered as he was shot, letting go of the handle of the knife where it was buried to the hilt inside of Dani, and Dani loosed an anguished scream as the blade ripped through her.

Malcolm felt his blood freeze when he heard Dani cry out, his head snapping around in a panic to see what had happened. It was like the world had stopped, everything else fading into oblivion, leaving only Dani behind. She was standing with her left arm raised slightly where the handle of the knife was keeping her from lowering her arm against her body. She had dropped the gun, leaving her right hand free to reach across her body, fingers skittering over the wound. Malcolm's eyes shifted up from the knife handle to see a look of excruciating pain contorting her face. He was on his feet and next to her just as she crumpled to the ground, catching her in strong arms and lowering her gently, careful not to jostle the knife.

"Dani," he breathed out. "Oh God, Dani, no."

Their killer took full advantage of the distraction and bolted, climbing over the wrought iron fence that surrounded the courtyard and making a run for it. Malcolm couldn't possibly have cared less about the man in that moment. His world had narrowed to a single focus. Dani.

For Dani, the world had become a haze of pain. Burning, throbbing, stabbing pain. She was barely aware of being lowered to the ground, except that it agitated the knife inside of her, kicking the pain up a notch as it ripped her open even more. "Bright," she panted as her hands flailed aimlessly. "Bright, it hurts."

Malcolm caught one of her hands in his, squeezing tightly as his other reached into his pocket for the phone.

"Hang in there Dani, help is coming," his voice was tight and shaking as he just barely kept the panic at bay. He shrugged off his jacket then dialed 911, pressing the phone between his ear and shoulder and giving her hand one last squeeze before letting go, resting her hand on her chest. He used his jacket to wrap around the knife, pressing firmly but gently and trying in vain to ignore her pained whimpers. "I need an ambulance at St. Mary's Church, an NYPD detective has been stabbed."

He tried to keep calm to provide the information that the paramedics would need and to follow the operator's orders, but he was shattering into jagged little pieces inside and didn't know how long he was going to be able to hold it together. Because this was Dani that was bleeding out in front of him. Dani, who had been there for him right from the first case they worked together. Who had held him after his night terror when she could have easily written him off as crazy, who kept him focused when snake venom was searing through his veins, who made him grilled cheese (even if he wasn't conscious long enough to actually eat it) when he accidentally got high.

To make matters worse, the knife in her side and the blood flowing out in a steady rush, coating his hands even with the jacket sopping it up, was causing flashbacks of long repressed memories, making it increasingly difficult to stay present. Visions of his own hand as it plunged a knife into another body. The feel of the split-second of push-back before the knife tip broke through the skin, followed by the impact shockwaving up his arm. He didn't know what this was. These weren't part of the memories he'd been battling all these years. The phone dropped from his shoulder as he hunched his shoulders forward, miraculously keeping pressure on the wound even as the terrible visions passed before his eyes.

Dani's eyes kept fluttering closed without her knowledge or consent, losing the battle to stay conscious. One moment she'd be looking up at Malcolm, watching the tears stream down his face, and the next she was in a sea of darkness, only attempting the struggle of opening her eyes again because of Bright's broken cries filtering through the static that was filling her head. She would force her eyes open, watching his expression flip back and forth between lucid and lacklustre, between a godawful torment when his eyes were clear, where he would repeat her name over and over and beg for her to hold on, and then like a switch had been flipped his eyes would glaze over and he was hyperventilating and looking heartbreakingly terrified. And even through the pulsating pain that was gnawing and clawing and ripping its way through her body, she still wanted to make him feel safe. Wanted to take him in her arms and hold him close the way she did when he had a night terror at the precinct.

"Bright." It was barely a whisper, her strength ebbing at the same startling rate as the blood that was spilling from her body. She tried to lift a hand to his face, wanting to let him know that she was there, wanting to let him know so many things that she should have told him before, but her hand stayed stubbornly still and the words wouldn't form between the shallow panting breaths that were getting harder and harder to manage.

He heard her call his name. Heard it through the terror and the confusion that was trapping him in the bedlam of his mind. But by the time he'd lifted his eyes to meet hers, her eyes had slipped shut. His eyes searched her face, noticing that her body had gone slack and the lines of pain that had been etched into her face had smoothed out. She looked peaceful.

Malcolm let out a tortured howl, frightening the paramedics that had just arrived and were making their way over to Dani.

"Sir, you need to step away and give us room to work." one of the medics said, firm yet still compassionate.

Malcolm didn't move. Didn't even notice they were there. He just kept pressing his jacket around the wound, trying to stop the life from leaking out of Dani, praying that he could somehow bring her back.

"Sir, you need to let go and let us take over." The medic gave Malcolm a second to move, but when he saw no response in Malcolm's vacant gaze, he placed his hands on Malcolm’s upper arms and physically helped him along.

The touch came as a shock to Malcolm and he jumped up, eyes frantically looking around, assessing for threats. He watched as the medics started working on Dani, removing his jacket and properly dressing the wound, hooking her up to a bag of saline, placing an oxygen mask over her face.

He heard snippets of their conversation as they carried over the rushing noise that had filled his head. 'penetrating trauma', 'BP's 60 over 30', 'hypovolemic shock'. He heard the words but his fracturing mind couldn't quite make sense of any of it.

The jumbled thoughts in his mind were coalescing into a single line of thought. The voice in his head telling him that this was his fault, that Dani sacrificed herself to protect him, that he should have known better than to turn his back, that Dani never would have even been there if he hadn't suggested coming to the service.

As the medics were loading Dani onto the gurney, Malcolm caught sight of her gun, lying forgotten on the ground where it had skitted away in the commotion. He stared at it for a moment before making a decision. He picked up the gun slowly, the barrel dragging along the ground before he straightened himself up.

"Sir, can you put the gun down, please?" He could hear the tension in the medic's voice but the words were just static.

He looked over to Dani one last time, then took off at a sprint to the back of the courtyard. He could hear the fading voices of the paramedics as he ran, calling for police backup, mentions of an armed male, but it didn't matter. He knew what he had to do.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's a little bit shorter, but the last chapter is just about done and will be up later this week.

Dani awoke fitfully, awareness seeping through in unexpected bursts only to be lost to the darkness once more. It took some time, but eventually the fog cleared and she slowly blinked her eyes open. She recognized that she was in the hospital, and she knew from the floaty feel of her limbs that she was on some pretty stellar pain medication, but she couldn't quite place what had landed her there. She tried to jog her memory, forehead creasing as she thought back to the last thing she remembered.

She and Bright had gone to the church service. She felt a warmth spreading through her body at the remembrance of her arm looped through his and the butterflies that had made a home in her stomach at the touch. But then came an burst of images of everything that happened after; they found a suspect and led him outside for questioning, the gleam of a knife, a searing pain in her side, that look on Bright's face.

The small gasp was enough to draw Gil's attention from his phone. He was out of the hard plastic chair and by her side before she even registered his presence in the room.

"Hey, Powell. Take it easy, okay? You're in the hospital." He took her hand in his, holding tight to let her know she wasn't alone. He was looking down at her with obvious concern. "Are you in a lot of pain? I can call the nurse."

He made to leave but Dani held his hand tighter and shook her head. She wasn't really in a lot of pain and she needed answers more than medical interference.

"M'fine'" she croaked, throat raspy from disuse and, she would find out later, an intubation tube. She released Gil's hand so he could raise the head of her bed a little and then grab the pitcher of water on the small plastic rolling table. She offered a small smile as she gratefully accepted the glass of room temperature water he poured for her.

"Small sips," he said gently.

The water felt heavenly on her scratchy throat, but she did as instructed and took only small sips. After a moment, she asked, "Did we catch him?"

Gil rolled his eyes but smiled warmly as he chided her. "You wake up in the hospital and you're more concerned about the killer than your health?"

Dani just stared at him. That wasn't an answer, which meant the answer was no. She let out a huff as Gil continued to avoid the question and filled her in on her injuries.

"The knife hit your spleen, so you lost a lot of blood very quickly. They had to transfuse and they also had to remove the spleen. You gave us quite a scare."

Her eyebrows shot up at that. Frankly, she didn't know what the spleen did, but losing an organ seemed not so good. Gil raised a hand in a 'don't worry' gesture as he continued. "The doctors assured me you can live a perfectly healthy life without a spleen. They expect you to make a full recovery, but you're gonna be out for a while."

She nodded as she processed the news. Her head was still a bit muzzy with the painkillers and a part of her wondered if she was going to remember all of this later, but right now she had a more pressing question.

"How's Bright?"

Gil's eyes dropped and she saw a flash of desperation before he could hide his emotions. It was only then that she noticed the black smudges under his eyes, like he hadn't slept in days. Noticed the worry lines etched deeply on his face. Noticed the defeat in the man's posture.

The machine beside her bed started beeping faster as her heart rate kicked up, triggering an alarm to alert the nurses. Gil's eyes shot up at the noise.

"Dani?" He asked. "Dani, calm down. You need to slow your breathing."

She hadn't even realized that she was breathing so fast, veering towards hyperventilating at an alarming rate. She tried to bite back the panic as she panted, "Bright. Is he...?"

She couldn't bring herself to finish the question. She had fuzzy memories of Bright leaning over her, of the killer running away, but what if he came back? What if Bright didn't make it out of that courtyard.

While Gil had been trying to spare Dani the news, he realized now that not telling her was worse than the alternative, knowing that Dani would be running a thousand different scenarios in her head. He sighed deeply and then filled her in.

"Bright's missing," he said with a frown. "The paramedics said he was pretty out of it, but that he grabbed your gun and took off. We've been looking for him ever since, but haven't found anything."

Dani sat wide-eyed and mouth agape. _What the fuck?_ She was overwhelmingly relieved that the news wasn't worse, but what did that even mean? Where would he have gone? And why would he have taken her gun?

A nurse came into the room and silenced the alarm, checking Dani over and asking a thousand questions, most of which she responded to with a vacant nod or shake of her head, if she bothered to respond at all. A few minutes later when the nurse turned to leave, Dani finally snapped out of the near fugue state she had fallen into.

"Can you taper down the pain meds?" she asked a little breathlessly.

"Powell." Gil admonished with a shake of his head.

She shot him a 'stay out of it' glare before looking back at the nurse expectantly.

"I can talk to your doctor about it, but your body's been through a severe trauma. It's going to be a very painful healing process." The nurse was a pretty young woman that Dani thought seemed too young to be taking care of herself, let alone a ward full of post-operative patients. "Think on it a little more, and we'll discuss it with the doctor when he makes his rounds."

Dani turned her attention to Gil as the nurse left, daring him to say a word. He wisely kept his mouth shut.

"The sooner I can think straight, the sooner I can help look for Bright." She could tell Gil wanted to argue, wanted her to rest and heal, but she could also tell that he understood her need to help. She wasn't sure exactly when it had happened, but Bright had become a vital member of their team and for Dani, her team was everything. If she was being honest with herself, and what better time was there for honesty than after almost dying, she was starting to think of him as more than just a friend or teammate.

Something occurred to her suddenly, halting that train of thought. "How long?"

That look of pain was marring Gil's face again and Dani wanted to do something, anything, to make it go away.

"You were stabbed and Bright went missing on Tuesday night. It's Friday morning now," he said quietly.

She blew out a long breath and closed her eyes, letting Gil brief her on what they knew so far. She tried her very best to stay focused, to listen as he told her about tracing his phone, monitoring his accounts, keeping a uni posted at his door, but her head had that damn cotton-stuffed feeling and she kept flashing back to the look on Malcolm’s face as he knelt beside her, keeping her from bleeding to death.

Bright always looked just a little bit haunted, but that night was something else entirely. That was a level of torment that she'd never witnessed on another person's face and hoped that she never would again. It was like the demons that always plagued him were clawing their way out and leaving an empty shell behind. He looked broken.

"Powell?" Gil said quietly.

She only realized she was crying when she opened her eyes and the room was a blur of tears.

"Jesus Gil. He looked so scared."

Gil took one of her hands and encased it in both of his, providing comfort where he could. She knew he had questions but he let her take a minute to compose herself and she was eternally thankful for it.

"It was like he kept getting lost in his head. And wherever it was that he kept going...shit, he just looked terrified, Gil. He was crying and shaking and he couldn't breathe, but he still kept pressure on my wound to keep me from bleeding to death." She took a deep breath and whispered, "He saved my life. I have to find him."

Gil looked close to tears himself and she could only imagine what he's been going through the last couple days. Having one of his people injured and in the hospital would have been bad enough, but Malcolm was like a son to him so the fear of not knowing where he was, if he was even alive, must have been killing him.

"We'll find him, Powell."

Gil stayed with Dani until the doctor came and looked her over, letting them know that she was healing beautifully. He also agreed to Dani's request to lower the dosage of pain medication, on the condition that they do it gradually and assess her pain levels regularly, which she agreed to immediately. Once the doctor left, Dani practically threw Gil out of the room.

"Gil, I'm fine. Go find Bright."

After Gil had left, when she was finally alone, she let herself break down. The fear and the pain and the worry about Malcolm all came to a head and she let it out in a flood of tears, sobs wracking her body, causing a deep ache inside and pulling painfully on her stitches. She allowed herself to just feel everything. Until her exhausted body pulled her into sleep once more, beginning the healing process for both her stab wound and her mind.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're finally getting to that Brightwell that I promised!

When Gil got back to the precinct, he filled in JT on Dani's condition and asked for an update on the search for Malcolm. Gil’s heart sunk when he heard there had been no news on the missing man.

Gil dropped his head with a sigh, looking hopeless in a way that JT had never seen before.

"Look, Gil, the kid knows how we operate. He knows what to do to not be found," JT said encouragingly. "Just because we haven't found him, doesn't mean anything's happened to him."

Gil smiled sadly at JT, appreciating the optimism, but Gil was more worried about Bright's mental health than anything else, and being scared and alone in the state that the paramedics and Dani had described was the worst thing for Malcolm. Every hour that went by left Gil more concerned about the state that they would find him in.

They spent the rest of the day following leads, searching traffic cam footage, speaking to witnesses from around the church, praying they had missed a clue that would lead them to Bright. It was shortly after 8:00 when Gil sent JT home, all leads exhausted. Gil could see the man was hesitant to leave, wanting to do more to find their missing profiler. A little piece of Gil’s heart warmed at the concern JT had been showing since Malcolm went missing. He knew the two men didn't get off to the best start, but there seemed to be a mutual respect growing between them lately and Gil hoped that maybe, someday, they might even become friends.

"Go," Gil said firmly. "Get some rest and we'll try again with fresh eyes in the morning."

Gil knew JT was going to head directly to the hospital to check on Dani, not go home and rest, but at least he was getting him out of the precinct. JT had been practically living there since everything went pear-shaped on Tuesday night.

Their homicide case had been passed on to another team, and Gil decided to stay a little longer to read over that team’s case files to see if they were making any progress. With the help of security footage of the man running from the church, they were able to identify him as 39 year old Robert Reich, and there seemed to be no connection between Robert and the family of five that he had slaughtered. Gil spent a couple of hours reviewing the details of the case since it had been handed off but finally gave into his body’s exhaustion and decided to call it a night shortly before 11.

As he was leaving his office, he heard a commotion coming from outside the station and hurried out to see what was happening. His stomach dropped as he walked out the front doors and saw Malcolm covered in blood and gripping a gun, pulling a struggling Robert Reich from the back of a beat-up sedan. What made Gil's heart stop for a moment and then start battering his chest like it was trying to break free were the four uniformed officers with their guns drawn and aimed at Malcolm, shouting at him freeze and to drop the weapon.

"Hold your fire!" Gil screamed, terrified that he was about to lose Malcolm in a hail of gunfire.

He ran towards Bright, putting his body between the kid and the drawn guns and holding his hands up to signal to the officers to back down.

"Don't shoot! He's one of ours." Gil's voice cracked as he tried to protect Malcolm. The officers all lowered their weapons but kept them at the ready, seeming unsure about the claim of 'one of ours' and Gil could understand why.

Malcolm was still in the same suit he'd worn to the candlelight vigil on Monday, but it was torn and dirty and stained in blood. There was both dried and fresh blood covering his hands and streaked across his face, and Gil could tell that at least some of it was his own as it dripped sluggishly down his face from a cut near his hairline. He also noted a jagged and angry looking cut down his arm, recognizing the defensive wound for what it was immediately. But even ignoring of all of that, Malcolm looked almost crazed. There was a glassy sheen to his eyes that had Gil worried about whether or not Malcolm was even aware of what was happening around him, and the dark circles beneath his wide-eyed gaze left no doubt that he hadn't slept since before this all started.

When Gil was sure that no one was going to fire, he switched to lieutenant mode and had two of the officers take care of Robert Reich, cuffing him and dragging him off to be processed, before turning his attention to Bright.

Bright's eyes were darting left and right, hypervigilant and still on edge, and Gil could see a faint tremble shaking his small frame. The kid was on the verge of a complete breakdown and Gil's heart shattered at the site. He approached him slowly like he would a cornered and frightened animal, broadcasting his movements clearly so as to not startle him. He carefully removed the gun from his shaking grip and handed it sideways to one of the officers without ever taking his eyes off of Bright, then gently placed his hands on either side of Bright's face, trying to get him to look him in the eye.

"Bright?" He asked gently. "Bright, can you hear me?" But Malcolm seemed to have trouble focusing on his face, eyes still moving restlessly, tracking spectres that no one else could see.

Gil turned to one of the officers and quietly asked him to call an ambulance.

"Malcolm, I need you to listen to me," he said a little more firmly. "You're done now, okay? You caught the killer. You can relax now."

Malcolm was starting to shake harder and Gil was at a loss how to help. He dropped his hands from the kid’s face and wrapped his arms around Malcolm's shaking shoulders, holding him close and repeating over and over that he was safe now, that he did good.

It was a few minutes before he heard a whispered "Gil?"

He pulled back slightly, keeping a firm hold on Malcolm’s shoulders and bending slightly to look him in the eye.

"Hey, kid, there you are," Gil smiled. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"I don't... I don't know." Malcolm still looked confused but at least he seemed to recognize Gil, but then his face crumpled and he started crying "I'm sorry. Oh god, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to. I'm sorry."

Malcolm started trembling so hard Gil was afraid he was going to hit the ground, so he wrapped his arms around him, holding him up as he sobbed into Gil's jacket, apologizing over and over.

"Shhh," Gil soothed, "it's okay, kid, whatever it is, it's okay." He could hear the sirens of an approaching ambulance and thanked God for the quick response time.

"I killed her," Malcolm was barely able to speak around his hitching breaths. "I killed Dani."

Gil didn't know what was happening in Malcolm's head, but he knew he needed to set things straight before the kid fell apart. He pulled back once again and cupped Bright's chin, making sure Malcolm was looking him in the eye.

"You did not kill Dani. Robert Reich stabbed her, but she's in the hospital and she's gonna be fine. You just brought Reich here, remember?"

But Malcolm's head hurt and his memories were bleeding into one another. He remembered the suspect stabbing Dani, remembered that's why he went after him in the first place. But he also remembered killing her, remembered his hand on the knife, the feel of it as it ripped into her body. He remembered the paramedics coming to work on Dani, but he also remembered the look of peace on her face when she died. Only, Gil said she didn't die, or did he just imagine that? He remembered running through the street chasing after the suspect, or was he running through the woods? Everything was disjointed and distorting and he couldn't make sense of any of it.

Gil watched in horror as Malcolm's hands flew up to his head, fisting tightly in his hair, pulling hard as he panted "no, no, no, no, no", his breath coming faster and faster as he started to rock in Gil's grip.

"Bright. Bright!" Gil called as he tried to loosen Malcolm's grip from his hair. "Bright, please stop," he begged. But it was no use. Malcolm clearly wasn't hearing him anymore. Tears were streaming warm down Gil's face as he watched the kid fall apart in front of him, so when the paramedics came and within minutes had injected him with a dose of diazepam, Gil was nothing but relieved when Malcolm slowly collapsed onto the waiting stretcher.

Roughly brushing the tears from his cheeks, he informed the paramedics that he'd be riding along, not even blinking as he answered when the medic asked if he was family.

"He's my son."

*

They kept Malcolm sedated for 12 hours at the hospital, Gil staying at his bedside the entire time, running a hand gently through his hair anytime Malcolm started thrashing or calling out in his sleep. They had stitched the cut on his head and bandaged the long laceration on his arm, and without the blood covering him he looked nearly as pale as the bandages.

When JT wheeled Dani in just before lunch, IV in tow, it was to find Gil fast asleep with his head leaning next to Malcolm's waist on the bed, Gil's hand resting on the top of Malcolm’s head. Dani smiled at the heartwarming picture of the two of them before clearing her throat.

Gil's head jerked up, his eyes going immediately to Malcolm, and Dani's heart gave a painful squeeze at the man's obvious concern for Malcolm.

"Hey boss," JT said quietly. "Is his skinny ass gonna pull through? I'll be pissed if I spent all that time looking for him for nothing."

Dani rolled her eyes and Gil just smiled. JT wasn't fooling anyone. They all knew he cared, even if he was too macho to come right out and say it.

"The doctor said she'll come and give him something to help him wake up around noon. What time is it?" Gil asked, getting to his feet with a groan and stretching out his cramped muscles. He'd spent far too many nights that week sleeping in uncomfortable hospital chairs.

Right as JT was about to answer, the doctor swept into the room and launched right into her plans for waking Malcolm.

"Alright, let's wake Mr. Bright up, shall we?" She stated with an overly cheerful smile, checking the readings on the machines that Bright was hooked up to. "I'm going to administer flumazenil to counteract the sedatives we've been giving him. He should start waking up in a few minutes, and we can see if he's feeling any better."

Gil bit his tongue at the implication that Bright was just a little under the weather and stood back while the doctor injected the drug into Malcolm's IV and raised the head of his bed.

The three detectives waited anxiously for Malcolm to stir while the doctor moved to the foot of the bed to make notes in his chart. Within a couple of minutes, Bright started moving restlessly and whimpering, clearly waking from a nightmare. Gil moved forward immediately and took Bright's hand, calling out to him.

"Bright, can you hear me? I need you to wake up now."

Malcolm groggily blinked his eyes open, but it took another minute or two for him to fully wake up.

"Hey there, City Boy," Gil smiled down at him. "How are you feeling?"

Malcolm looked around the room, taking in the doctor at the foot of the bed, and JT and Dani just beside the doorway. The events of the last few days were a bit of a blur, but he knew he may have gone off the deep end just a little. A flush spread over his cheeks as he answered, "Embarrassed mostly. And tired. Dani, how are you?"

His eyes had settled intently on her and she was fully aware of being profiled. It should have made her uncomfortable, but she found herself smiling at him as she answered. "I'm okay. You saved me, Bright."

"You saved me first," he replied with a small smile which quickly faded, guilt consuming his features. "Dani -"

"-Don't even think about apologizing, Bright. This was not your fault." She interrupted before he could even start. Gil had filled her and JT in about Malcolm's arrival at the precinct and his confusion about killing Dani. Besides that, she knew him well enough to recognize when he was blaming himself for things that weren’t his fault.

Dani and Malcolm stared at one another, unspoken emotions sucking up all the air in the room, when the doctor spoke up, oblivious to the conversation that had just taken place. "Mr. Bright, I have some questions for you. Please answer as honestly as possible."

The doctor asked Malcolm a series of questions to assess his physical and mental health, at the same time performing some quick medical exams - checking pupil response, reflexes and the like - all while jotting down notes in her chart. In under 5 minutes she had finished her exam and swept out of the room once again with a warning that a psychologist would be by shortly for a more detailed examination. Malcolm didn’t even acknowledge her words, lost as he was in Dani’s gaze.

Gil noticed the weighted look passing between Malcolm and Dani and made a decision.

"JT, why don't you and I go grab a bite to eat? We'll bring something back for the patients." Gil gave Malcolm's hand a squeeze before letting go and walking over to the door, clapping a hand on JT's shoulder.

JT looked like he was about to argue, but followed Gil's line of sight to Dani and Malcolm and clued in with a surprised “oh”, eyebrows shooting up to his hairline.

"I could eat," JT replied unnecessarily to Gil and pushed Dani's wheelchair up to the bed. "Try not to get stabbed or go AWOL while we're gone," he called out over his shoulder as he left the room.

Dani and Malcolm were left in an awkward silence, neither knowing exactly what to say. Dani finally sighed and started talking, figuring they needed to start somewhere.

"I meant what I said. It wasn't your fault." She made sure to look him in the eye as she said it so that he would be able to tell she wasn't lying. "You saved my life. I would have bled out of you hadn't been there."

"You wouldn't have been stabbed at all if you hadn't had to push me out of the way. I'm sorry you got hurt protecting me." Malcolm spoke softly, but she could tell he meant it with every fiber of his being.

She reached forward to grab his hand but jerked back with a hiss at the pull on her stitches. He was out of bed and kneeling by her side before she'd even settled back in the chair.

"Are you alright? Should I get a doctor? I should get a doctor." He looked like he was about to hunt down every doctor in the hospital and drag them to her.

"I'm fine, Bright," she said, grabbing his hand before he could bolt. "Just forgot I need to move a little slower for a bit."

"How bad is it?"

"It's okay. Lost my spleen, but it turns out that's like, the middle child of the organ family. Doesn't really matter."

Bright's frown lines grew even deeper. "Just because you can survive without it doesn't mean it's not important, Dani. You'll be more susceptible to infections now. This is serious."

Dani huffed out a breath. So much for lightening the mood. "I know Bright. The doctor filled me in. But I'm alive, and that's a win. Can we just be happy about that?"

"Of course I'm happy about that," Malcolm said seriously. "I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't pulled through."

Bright was chewing on his lip, clearly wanting to say something but unsure how to say it. And Dani thought back to that look in his eyes when he noticed her at the church, and the way they fit so well together when they walked arm in arm, and how even when she was dying on the ground she wanted to make things better for him.

"What the hell," she muttered under her breath, more to herself than to him. She took a deep breath and said it fast and firm, like ripping off a Band-Aid, "I think I have feelings for you."

He blinked at her in disbelief for a moment and she started getting a bit antsy, picking at the thin hospital gown beneath her hands.

"I should clarify," she said eventually, when the silence was making her skin start to prickle. "I don't _think_ I have feelings for you. I _have_ feelings for you." She pursed her lips, trying to decide if she needed to say more. "Romantic feelings."

"Are you sure?" He asked it like he's just received a terminal diagnosis and she started to question if maybe it was a terrible idea to have said anything at all.

She was starting down a rabbit hole of insecurities in her head when he sort of just blurted out, "I'm in love with you."

It was her turn to blink vacantly at him for a moment, but before she could even open her mouth to respond, he was talking so fast she could barely keep up, hands gesturing wildly like when he had a breakthrough in a profile.

"I've think I've been in love with you for quite a while, actually, and I'll admit it took an embarrassingly long time to recognize the feeling for what it was, which had nothing to do with you, by the way, you're perfect, it's just that I've never been in love before, so that particular combination of dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin were sort of new to me so I didn't immediately realize what was happening. Which is ridiculous, really, because you're smart and beautiful and loyal and so unbelievably strong, that, you know, how could I not be in love with you? But notwithstanding my interminable journey towards self-realization, I always recognized that it would be best not to say anything, because this can't happen, Dani. Even if you forget about my insane family and the whole serial-killer-father thing, I think the events of the last few days prove that I am broken in ways that can't be fixed and you deserve better, because-"

"Shut your mouth Bright." The flood of information had taken her by surprise and she let him ramble on, but hearing him say that he was broken was straight up Not Okay, and she intended to shut it down immediately. Malcolm's jaw snapped closed and he looked at her in surprise.

"Sit," she pointed to the bed and he perched on the side of it, still facing her.

"You listen here Bright." she said, jabbing a finger at his chest and ignoring the ache in her side that came with leaning forward. "You are not broken and there is nothing to fix. Your crazy family and your serial-killer father are part of what made you who you are, and I'm okay with that, because I _like_ who you are. A lot." She paused to make sure he was really listening before continuing, dropping her hand to his leg and rubbing comforting circles over his knee through his hospital gown. "And as far as me deserving better? I couldn't ask for better than you, Bright. You fought your demons in order to save my life, and then you singled handedly hunted down the man that hurt me. Which, by the way, what the fuck Bright?" She swatted his leg in exasperation. "You can't just go off alone to find a killer. You have a team for that."

Malcolm felt like he was getting whiplash trying to keep up with the conversation. But the message was getting through. Dani cared about him. She didn't think he was broken.

He offered a lopsided smile for the declaration of feelings, and an apologetic shrug for running off alone in pursuit of a killer. Dani found the very Bright-like combination of the two far too adorable to stay angry. At least for now. Although they most certainly would be having words about his reckless lack of self-regard.

"So. Are we gonna do this?" she asked.

"I think," Malcolm paused, "I think I need to tell you about what I thought I saw when you were stabbed before you make the decision to be with me."

Dani saw a deep sadness in his eyes, and she knew that he believed she would change her mind once he told her whatever it was that was weighing down on him so heavily. What he didn't realize was that she wanted nothing more than to share the load with him.

"If that's what you need to feel comfortable about this, about us, that's fine. You can tell me anything, Bright. Always. But just know that you're not going to scare me away. I'm in this for the long haul."

He looked at her in awe. He felt it in his bones, in his soul, that she meant it.

"I love you, Dani Powell," he smiled.

She tugged lightly on his fingers, pulling him back over to her.

"Does that mean I can finally kiss you?" she teased, intertwining her fingers with his.

He didn't answer. He didn't need to. Instead, he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers and they discovered yet another way that their bodies fit together perfectly.


End file.
